Thursday
The best time to drive the M18 on a Thursday
On a Thursday the M18 is quietest at 20:00, averaging 69 mph, and busiest at 16:00, averaging 46 mph. Measured from National Highways roadside sensors between 1 May 2026 and 15 June 2026, not estimated.
- Measured, not estimated
- 1 May 2026 to 15 June 2026
Every hour of a Thursday
Darker means slower- 00:0063mph9% below normal
- 01:0062mph10% below normal
- 02:0062mph10% below normal
- 03:0062mph11% below normal
- 04:0062mph10% below normal
- 05:0064mph7% below normal
- 06:0065mph6% below normal
- 07:0056mph19% below normal
- 08:0048mph30% below normal
- 09:0055mph21% below normal
- 10:0062mph11% below normal
- 11:0061mph12% below normal
- 12:0058mph15% below normal
- 13:0060mph13% below normal
- 14:0060mph13% below normal
- 15:0058mph16% below normal
- 16:0046mph33% below normal
- 17:0050mph28% below normal
- 18:0064mph8% below normal
- 19:0069mphnormal speed
- 20:0069mphnormal speed
- 21:0069mphnormal speed
- 22:0067mphnormal speed
- 23:0065mph5% below normal
Across the day that is roughly 5 percentage points further below free-flowing than the M18's average day, so Thursday is one of the harder days to travel on this road. Hours outside 06:00 to 22:00 are shown but greyed: the small hours are the fastest on almost every road in England, which is true and useless for planning. Averaged across 5 sensors on the M18.
Minutes you save on a Thursday
Quietest against busiest hour69 mph43 min
46 mph65 min
22 minsaved on a 50-mile trip
Other trip lengths: 10 miles saves 4 min, 25 miles saves 10 min. Worked out from the average speed along the whole M18 at each hour, so a trip through its worst junction at rush hour loses more than this.
Questions about the M18 on a Thursday
What is the best time to drive the M18 on a Thursday?
On a Thursday the quietest hour on the M18 is 20:00, when traffic averages 69 mph. That is a measured average from National Highways roadside sensors on the road itself, recorded between 1 May 2026 and 15 June 2026, rather than an estimate. Only 06:00 to 22:00 is considered, because the small hours are the fastest on almost every road in England and saying so helps nobody plan a journey. Roadworks, collisions and weather are not in the average, so it describes what this Thursday usually looks like rather than what today will look like.
What time is the M18 busiest on a Thursday?
The busiest hour on the M18 on a Thursday is 16:00, averaging 46 mph, about 33% below the speed the road runs at when it is clear. The comparison is against this road's own free-flowing speed, so "slower" means slower than the M18 normally manages rather than slower than some national figure. Measured from roadside sensors between 1 May 2026 and 15 June 2026. It is an archive of the usual pattern, not a live reading, so check conditions before you set off.